One of the most celebrated American writers of her time, Rachel Carson, achieved the impossible: convincing a society intent on mastering and controlling nature that we, as humans, must view ourselves as being part of nature rather than separate from it.

An impassioned writer turned biologist turned environmental activist, Carson understood from a young age her place in nature. Her mother, Marie Carson, was a former schoolteacher, who like many women during the early 1900s gave up her career for marriage and motherhood.

Her husband Robert, Rachel’s father, brought little money into the household, never providing more than a meager existence for the Carson family, who for decades lived without central heat or running water, according to the featured PBS documentary “American Experience — Rachel Carson.”

Though a poverty-stricken housewife, Marie was an educated woman who enjoyed reading and music and possessed an insatiable love for nature.

Fortunately for mankind, that love and respect for nature was passed down to Rachel, who today is accredited for the existence of environmental protections, and the simple willingness to weigh the impacts of technology on nature.

Inspired by a popular movement centered on the belief that children should study nature and not books, Marie transformed the great outdoors into Rachel’s classroom. Together, the two spent entire afternoons outdoors identifying birds and insects while listening to and appreciating the sounds of nature. 

Carson was a solitary, yet thoughtful, young girl who greeted the birds on her way to school.

Her talent for writing was apparent early on as she wrote her own stories by the ripe age of 8, and by 10 had become a published author after winning a contest sponsored by the popular children’s magazine, St. Nicholas. At 14, Carson was selling her work to magazines.